ANTHROPOGENIC PRESSURE AND CHANGES IN IXODES TICK POPULATIONS IN THE BALTIC REGION OF RUSSIA AND DENMARK

About authors:

S.D. Zharkov, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen,  Denmark
H. V. Dubinina, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb. 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia

A. N. Alekseev, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya emb., 1, 199034 St. Petersburg,
RUSSIA
Per M. Jensen, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen,  Denmark

Acknowledgments:

We thank Dr. Olga V.Voltzit (Zoological Museum, Moscow Lomonosov State University) for the material from the Zhiguli National Re-serve. The authors also thank other members of the research group, especially Hanna Hansen (KVL), Alexander Semyonov and Leonid Anisyutkin. Special thanks are due to Prof. Jose Bresciani and Leif Stausholm (KVL) for their generous help with the tick image reproduction. The research described in this publication was made possible, in part, by the Danish Research Council grant 9600864 and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant 98-04-49899.

Annotation:

The representatives of two Ixodes species were tested for exoskeleton abnormalities and infections caused by different pathogens. Two groups comprising 3854 alive ticks from Russia and Denmark and 3417 alcohol fixed ticks collect-ed from five different locations in 1990-1999 were studied.

Abnormalities were looked for using a stere-omicroscope. For the first time the presence and types of Ixodes species nymphs' exoskeleton ab-normalities were shown. Darkfield microscopy and IFA methods were used to detect infection.

The minimum of anomalies (10-15%) was found in protected areas: in the Zhiguli Reserve (Russia) and the Gribskov National Park (Denmark). The maximum (48%) was found in the industrial Cherepovets area (Russia). The prevalence of the exoskeleton abnormalities in Ixodes ticks populations depends greatly on the anthropo-genic pressure. Exoskeleton abnormality research may be one of the most reliable ways of biomonitoring of the environment pollution level. Further research needed to reveal the exact abnormality causing agents. It might be an accumulation of the heavy metal ions or complex hydrocarbons in the environment as well as any other factors.

Bibliography:

Alekseev A.N. 1995. Anthropogenic press, pathomor-phology of the vector, and abundance of the Lyme disease agent // Doklady Akademii Nauk. T.340. No.4. S. 563-565. [In Russian]

Alekseev A.N. 1996. Tick pathogen interactions: behav-ior of infected and uninfected ticks (Ixodidae) // Acarology IX. Rodger Mitchell, David J. Horn, Glen R. Needham, W. Calvin Welbourn eds. Vol.1. Proceedings. Ohio Biol. Survey Pubi., Columbus, Ohio. P. 113-115.

Alekseev A.N., Dubinina H.V. 1993. Abnormalities in Ixodes ticks (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae) // Acarina. Rus-sian Journal of Acarology. Vol.1. No.1. P. 73-85.

Alekseev A.N., Dubinina H.V. 1996. Some aspects of mite (Oppiidae) and tick (Ixodidae) pathology as a result of anthropogenic pressure // Acarology IX. Rodger Mitchell, David J. Horn, Glen R. Need-ham, W.Calvin Welbourn eds. Vol. 1. Proceedings. Ohio Biol. Survey Pubi., Columbus, Ohio. P. 117-120.

Alekseev A.N., Dubinina H.V. 1997. [Monitoring of the system "Mites-Microorganisms" as biotic compo-nents dueto variations in the anthropogenic pres-sure] // Monitoring Bioraznoobraziya. The Russian Academy of Sciences Pubi. Moscow. S. 195-201. [In Russian],

Alekseev A.N., Burenkova L.A., Vasilyeva I.S., Dubini-na H.V., Chunikhin S.P. 1996. [The functioning of mixed tick-borne infection foci in Russia] // Meditsinskaya Parasitologiya i Parasitarnye Bolez-ni. No. 4. S. 9-16. [In Russian]

Alekseev A.N., Jensen P.M., Dubinina H.V., Smirnova L.A., Makroushina N.A., Zharkov S.D. 2000. Peculiarities of behavior of the taiga {Ixodes persul-catus) and sheep (Ixodes ricinus) ticks (Acarina, Ixodidae) determined by different methods // Folia Parasitologica. Vol.47. No.2. (In press)

Campana- Rouget Y. 1959. La teratologie des tiques // Ann. Parasitol. Vol. 34. No.1-2. P.211-260; Vol. 34. No.3. P. 354-431.

Dubinina H.V., Alekseev A.N. 1994. Skeleton changes in the oribatid mites under the influence of the heavy metal ions accumulation // Acarina. Russian Journal of Acarology. Vol.2. No.1-2. P. 81-93.

Koshkin S.M. 1967. [A rare monstrosity in the tick Ixodes persulcatus Sch. in nature] // Nositeli i Perenoschiki Vozbuditeley Osobo Opasnykh In-fektsiy Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka. Izvestiya Irkutsk. Gos N11 PChI Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka. T.27. P. 332-334. [In Russian]

Pavlovsky E.N. 1939. [Monstrosities and abnormalities in the ticks Ixodoidea] / /  Mag. Parasitol.  Inst. Zool. Acad. Sci. URSS. Т. 7. P.7-44. [In Russian| Pervomaisky G.S. 1954. [Variation in the pasture ticks (Acarina,  Ixodidae) and its importance for the systematics] // Trudy Vsesoyuznogo Entomolog-icheskogo Obshchestva. T.44. P. 62-201. [In Russian]